Louis St. Laurent

Louis St. Laurent (1 February 1882-25 July 1973) was Prime Minister of Canada from 15 November 1948 to 21 June 1957, succeeding Mackenzie King and preceding John Diefenbaker. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Biography
Louis St. Laurent was born in Compton, Quebec, Canada in 1882, and he studied law at Laval University and was appointed law professor there in 1914. A successful lawyer, he was president of the Canadian Bar Association from 1930 to 1932, and in 1937 became an adviser to a Royal Commission on national-provincial relations. Despite his complete lack of political experience, Mackenzie King made him Minister of Justice in December 1941, whereupon he was elected to Parliament in 1942. The only minister from Quebec, he supported Mackenzie King's introduction of conscription for service overseas despite the fierce opposition of most of his home province. He became responsible for external affairs in 1946, and in 1948 succeeded Mackenzie King was leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minister. A grandfatherly figure with a sharp mind, he extended Mackenzie King's careful beginning of a welfare state through broadening of old-age pensions and introducing hospital insurance. He backed Lester B. Pearson's support for NATO and the UN, while he oversaw the integration of Newfoundland into Canada. Despite overwhelming election victories in 1949 and 1953, he appeared increasingly inactive, and was caught out by John Diefenbaker's well-organized Progressive Conservative Party of Canada during the 19957 elections. He resigned as party leader in 1958 and withdrew from politics. He died in 1973.